Jettisoned articles - Hazard to folks on the ground?

[GLIDEANGLE 1]

Searches on this topic have been fruitless.

I have read from time to time about shedding gear such as a camera or a camera helmet to clear an entanglement during freefall or canopy flight. It seems to me that these shed articles pose a life threatening risk to folks on the ground.

Of course, these items are most often shed to save the life of the jumper. So I imagine that there is a balancing of the risk of near certian death of the jumper vs a remote risk of injury or death of someone on the ground.

I would be appreciative to see comments, stories, opinions, or scary photos related to the risk that jettisoned articles pose to individuals on the ground.

Thanks!

The choices we make have consequences, for us & for others!

[doorgirl 0]

You might want to check out MythBusters on penny drops. I don't know what a jettisoned helmet would do, but they busted the myth that a penny falling from the Empire State Building would kill someone. On the other hand, I remember hearing of a chunk of toilet ice going through someone's roof. That's gotta hurt... and stink when it melts.

I think on the ground I'll worry about jettisoned helmets as much as I don't about meteors or toilet ice hitting me. And in the air I'll keep doing everything I can (short of endangering myself) to keep from dropping anything. Good question though. I wonder if anyone here has any experience with this.

[PhreeZone 15]

I know of shoes breaking skylights, helmets falling and bouncing since they hit so hard, a packing weight that exploded and peppered the area with lead shot. I seem to remember some stories of shoes and the old Bell helmets doing serious damage to cars as the fell on them in years past. This is one reason that skyballs and other objects need to be considered so closely before jumping them.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[doorgirl 0]

Those sound like they could cause a really bad day! I guess this is something most important to consider before deciding to take something out the door, be it a camera helmet, a skyball, or something else. With a helmet that snags you can't be worried about what could happen to some poor soul on the ground and consider keeping your head tied up in the lines - the risk is a lot more certain to the jumper in that case. But with a skyball its all for fun, so the jumper needs to be 100% confident that they can handle it and realize what could happen. Right?

[jheadley 0]

On my 2nd tandem, the vidiot lost his camera and it landed only a few yards away from the packing area. Good spot...

[kelpdiver 2]

The penny is no threat because it has virtually no mass. and its shape doesn't lend itself to stable freefall. Glasses wouldn't be too bad either.

A helmet may fall stably, and has some bulk to it. With the camera attached, definitely some bad potential energy there.

[JohnRich 4]

1) Skydiving operations tend to be out in the middle of nowhere, so there aren't a lot of things to be hit. They usually fall harmlessly into cow pastures or farm fields.

2) You've heard of the "big sky" theory for why we don't have more collisions in freefall with airplanes. That's because the sky is so huge, we take up so little of it, and it's three-dimensional. Well, the ground is only two-dimensional, but it's still darned big, and the amount of it down below occupied by fragile things is a small percentage. So I suppose you could call this the "big ground" theory - the odds of hitting something that will break is small.

3) For intentionally dropped articles, like a pumpkin, the exit spot is carefully chosen to avoid any danger.

[crotalus01 0]

I lost my shoe on exit two weeks ago...fractured my toe on landing.

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[piisfish 135]

when I jettisoned my camera helmet it stayed in the lines of my "un-cutaway" main. The only thing that it the ground with some freefall was the L&B Optima that was inside the helmet.
Video HERE

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[Andy9o8 0]

I still "piis" my pants every time I see that video.

[bluesidedown 0]

Sean Tucker has some experience with that dilemma... try a search for 'Sean Tucker bailout' and see if you can find hiw review of it. The message there is subtle but obvious.

[MB38 0]

I've read of camera helmets impacting on top of hangers... and giving everybody the scare of their lives.

Skyballs have a lot of mass and not a lot of surface area. They could easily kill somebody if lost in freefall. This is why catching a skyball is so important before deployment. There is at least one skyball on the market that will open up at a certain altitude, spilling its payload [shot or water, I forget] and tumbling to the ground harmlessly. it's obviously just a safety device... not something to be counted on.

I could see a camera helmet doing some serious damage to somebody if they were struck in the right [wrong?] way. That said, it's not like somebody could put a little "reserve" round in their helmet in case of a helmet cutaway. Premature deployment = decapitation.

Though I'll admit it... I think there's a safe way to put a "reserve" round into a FTP with the right design... I've been toying with it in my spare time.

I really don't know what I'm talking about.

[phoenixlpr 0]

Quote

Though I'll admit it... I think there's a safe way to put a "reserve" round into a FTP with the right design... I've been toying with it in my spare time.

Do you think about an old PC ?

[lekstrom10k 0]

As usual no one mentioned the pilot is responsible for anything that comes out of the plane{FAR?] We had a board cutaway that landed next to a poor guy mowing his lawn . It knife edged into the ground a few feet from where he was mowing. when the girl landed near it she came over and grabbed it from his shaking body.Never said I am sorry I almost killed you just Give me my board back.No more boards at our DZ. The pilot is glad he wont have to play squat tag on fire-hydrants if he ever got out of prison.

[toronto_bill 0]

To be a bit of a devil's advocate...

Things fall off airplanes all the time. Do we ever hear about it all? Nope.

In southern Ontario, two years ago, a door from a cessna came off, a part of a jet engine, and a canopy from a WW2 trainer....thats only part of one year.

Seems to me, all 'pilots in command' need to be concerned.

The sky surfer situation....its the same as a reserve handle that is dropped accidentally. Isn't it?

Bill

[NWFlyer 2]

Quote

As usual no one mentioned the pilot is responsible for anything that comes out of the plane{FAR?] We had a board cutaway that landed next to a poor guy mowing his lawn . It knife edged into the ground a few feet from where he was mowing. when the girl landed near it she came over and grabbed it from his shaking body.Never said I am sorry I almost killed you just Give me my board back.No more boards at our DZ. The pilot is glad he wont have to play squat tag on fire-hydrants if he ever got out of prison.

Boy she really tried to build good relationships with the neighbors. I'm sure they'll be really willing to help out looking for lost canopies.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[piisfish 135]

Quote

I still "piis" my pants every time I see that video.

I think Mikey Holmes video is scarier actually.

Even more after seeing the stills of the gear

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

The sky surfer situation....its the same as a reserve handle that is dropped accidentally. Isn't it?

A skyboard could kill someone. A ripcord handle would just give you knot on the head.

Ripcords mostly just ding-up the lawnmower blades on the farmer's tractor...

[piisfish 135]

Quote

The sky surfer situation....its the same as a reserve handle that is dropped accidentally. Isn't it?

don't most (all?) boards now have a small parachute ?

At least the ones I saw did...

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[azdiver 0]

Quote

Quote

I still "piis" my pants every time I see that video.

I think Mikey Holmes video is scarier actually.

Even more after seeing the stills of the gear

got the link becuase yours is freaking scary

light travels faster than sound, that's why some people appear to be bright until you hear them speak

[DeNReN 0]

Dropped several water balloons last fall...approx. 8 to 10cm in dia. ....dropped from 300 to 1000 ft...

You wouldnt want to be hit by one...they left small craters.

[skydiverek 55]

Quote

Even more after seeing the stills of the gear

Where can I see that?

[piisfish 135]

Quote

Quote

Even more after seeing the stills of the gear

Where can I see that?

don't know if they are published.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[piisfish 135]

Quote

got the link becuase yours is freaking scary

search on Skydivingmovies...

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[MB38 0]

Quote

Quote

Though I'll admit it... I think there's a safe way to put a "reserve" round into a FTP with the right design... I've been toying with it in my spare time.

Do you think about an old PC ?

Bingo... but a premature deployment will still kill you before the PC explodes. If I ever get a functional design put together, I'll post something.

I really don't know what I'm talking about.